What to wear to your first class

Pilates has a dress code, and it is mostly about physics. You spend a lot of it lying back, tipped up, or bent in half. Clothes that behave in those positions make the class better.

Wear

• Fitted leggings or shorts. The instructor needs to see your alignment. Cropped is fine. Sweat-wicking is nicer.
• A top that stays down. Fitted tank, sports bra, or a snug tee. Anything loose will end up over your face the first time you go upside down.
• Grippy socks for reformer. The ones with rubber dots. Most studios require them, and most sell a pair at the desk if you forget.

Skip

• Baggy anything. It hides your form and gets in the way.
• Zips, buttons, chunky seams. They dig in against a reformer carriage. You will notice by minute ten.
• Jewellery and watches. They catch on straps and springs. Rings especially.
• Heavy makeup or a full face, if you can help it. You will be inverted and you will sweat.

The barefoot question

Mat classes are usually barefoot or in grippy socks, your call. Reformer is almost always grippy socks, for hygiene and grip on the carriage. Plain socks slide, which is the opposite of what you want on a moving platform.

Do not overthink it

Nobody is looking at your outfit. They are looking at their own feet, or trying not to fall off the reformer. Wear the leggings you own, bring water, arrive five minutes early to meet the machine. That is the whole brief.